Improvement in plaiting-machines



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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MICHAEL NEVILLE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN PLAlTlNG-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 185,949, dated January2, 1877; application filed May 10, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL NEVILLE, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Plaiting- Machines, and is designed for plaiting clothand other fibrous material, of which the following is a specificationThis invention consists in hiugin g or swinging a series of needles on apin or fixed shaft passing lengthwise through a stem, said stem beingcomposed of a rectangular strip of hard wood or other suitable material,the needles admitting of being situated and operating in slits out inthe edge of said stem, and are provided with a tongue at the lowercorner, and at right angles to the face of said edge, the combination ofthe tongue, stem, and needles being what is called the comb, the needlesadmitting of being turned from the horizontal to the vertical position.The use and operation of this comb E will be described when I refer tothe drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of the machine, showing theposition of the comb E after operating. Fig. 2 is a verticalcross-section, the dotted lines showing the position of the comb Ebefore operating. Fig. 3 is a detail of the rack B, said rack beingcomposed of hard Wood or other semi-elastic material, and is attached toone edge of the rectangular board A, Fig. 1, and at right angles to thesurface thereof, the vertical slits l 2 3 4 5 in the edge of said rackbeing spaced equal to corresponding slits in stem F, and terminating incircular holes 0 0 0, forming shoulders at their intersection, the holesbeing of greater diameter than the needles, and still greater than thewidth of the slits, said slits and holes being above the surface of theboard A. At the opposite side of board A is formed a shoulder, O, as inFig. 2, having the groove D cut into the angle thereof, parallel withthe surface of board A.

To operate the machine, the tongue G of stem F is introduced into thegroove D in board A, the needles 1 2 3 4 5 being turned in a verticalposition. Then the material to be plaited is laid lengthwise on theboard A, and over the material is placed needle No. 2, its end insertedin slit No. 2 in rack B and pressed down into the hole 0, the shoulderthereof preventing the needle, when operating, from slipping up. Thenthe main portion of the material is brought over said needle. After thisoperation needle No. 1 is laid over the material inserted in slit No. 1of said rack, and pressed down into the hole 0, as before. The materialis again brought over to its original position, and needle No. 4 is laidover and inserted in its corresponding slit, and so on until therequired plaiting is done. The material, if woolen, is pressed with ahot flatiron, a damp cloth being first placed between the iron andplaiting. Then, by laying one hand on the plaiting, the comb E may bewithdrawn.

I claim 1. The board A, having at one side shoulder 0 and groove 1), andat opposite side rack B, in combination with comb E, as set forth.

2. In a plaiting-machine, the rack B, having the slits 1 2 3 4 5,terminating in holes 0 0, forming shoulders at their intersection, forthe purpose of preventing the needles from slipping up, as specified.

3. The comb E, composed of a series of plaiting-needles connected to aremovable stem or bar, whereby all the needles may be withdrawn from thebed-plate or board A at once, as in the specification set forth anddescribed.

MICHAEL NEVILLE.

Witnesses:

JAMEs F. HARAHAN, JOHN MAY.

